Discover how to make these fruitful bushes a fast member of your garden area.

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One of the easiest fruit bushes to grow, black currants even do well in
containers, producing healthy berries, packed with vitamins. They can be
eaten fresh but taste far better in jams, pies, and summer drinks.

How to Grow

Black currants require moist, fertile soil and prefer full sun but will
also ripen, albeit later, in some shade. Plant bare root shrubs in the
winter; container-grown plants can be planted at any time if well
watered. Dig in well-rotted organic matter, and plant deeply as a
“stool” bush. Black currants grow well in containers filled with
soil-based compost. Before the fruit is ready to harvest, from mid- to
late summer, cover plants with netting to deter birds. Water well during
dry periods, and feed in the spring with granular fertilizer or
well-rotted organic matter, such as garden compost.

Be sure to support fruiting plants with string and canes to prevent branches laden
with fruit from drooping and snapping off. What's more, black currants are a magnet for birds, so net the plants to prevent damage.

Black currants fruit on one-year-old wood. They should be pruned in the
winter to encourage new fruit-bearing shoots. Plants can also be pruned
in the summer to allow light in to ripen the fruit and improve air
circulation between branches, which helps to deter disease.

In the winter, prune established shrubs by cutting a third of the oldest
branches off at ground level and removing dead, damaged, or diseased
wood. Horizontal branches that are lying close to the ground should also
be removed. Don’t prune healthy young stems.